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President Kocharian addresses Nation on April 24
YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS: Armenian president Robert Kocharian addressed today a message to the nation in connection with the 86th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The message reads as follows:
"Dear Compatriots,
Today we commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The
Genocide was the biggest tragedy in the history of the nation that had lived
for thousands of years in its historical cradle contributing to the
development of the civilization. It has left a heavy trace in the future of
all sections of Armenians.
The consequences of Genocide are still felt today, as the humanity has
stepped into a new millenium with new hopes and expectations for deepening
international cooperation.
Seeking international recognition of the Genocide remains on the agenda of
Armenia's foreign policy as a reflection of just and legal expectations of
all Armenians throughout the world.
But the tragedy that occurred at the beginning of the 20th century is first
and most a crime against the humanity and requires a unified and complete
assessment by the international community.
The world has already tested in the 20th century the bitter fruits of
rendering to the oblivion this crime.The international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide is not only linked to the desire of the Armenians to
restore the historical truth, but it is also a necessary prerequisite for
the
regional stability and development, as well as for having normalized
relations with Armenia's neighbors.
Today, April 24, bowing down before the memory of the innocent victims, the
Armenians in all parts of the world witness their united will for building a
free and prosperous homeland, a country that will have its own place and its
own share of responsibility within the international community, a country
that is no longer a hostage to its past and is looking ahead to the future.
ARMENIA COMMEMORATES GENOCIDE VICTIMS
YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS: Armenia's president Robert Kocharian, members
of the Armenian government, representatives of political parties, diplomatic
corps and top clerics from the Armenian Apostolic Church laid wreathes today
at a memorial in the capital, Yerevan, to more than one million victims of
the 1915 genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
Hundreds of thousands of Armenians from all parts of the world walked today
up the Tsitsernakaberd hill in Yerevan to the 1915 Genocide Memorial on the
annual day of remembrance for Armenians massacred in the Ottoman Empire.
Ceremonies were also held in Armenian communities throughout the world.
Armenian and many other scholars argue that the 1915 genocide was
premeditated by the government of the Ottoman Turkey and aimed at the
annihilation of Armenians, but official Ankara denies that the mass killings
were part of a premeditated government policy, attributing them to the
turmoil caused by the First World War.
"April 24 is not only a commemoration day for us, but a day for uniting our
efforts to build a stronger state to solve our problems," Armenian prime
minister said to reporters.
US ambassador to Armenia Michael Lemmon said that both peoples (Turks and
Armenians) must find courage to look forward, to try to live as good
neighbors overcoming the heavy burden of the past.
"When we come here, it means that we come to search for truth," Ukraine's
ambassador to Yerevan Alexander Bozhko said.
A group of Turkish expatriates visiting Armenia urged Ankara to acknowledge
the killings and deportations as a genocide. They represent a
Frankfurt-based
group called the Union Against Genocide, which according to its leader Ali
Ertem, includes Turkish citizens some of whom were "persecuted" by the
Turkish government."
At a scientific conference in Yerevan, devoted to the 86th anniversary of
the
Armenian Genocide, Ertem released a "letter to the Armenian people" saying:
"We have come to apologize to you and stretch out our hand of
reconciliation." He said more than 11,000 Turks have signed the
organization's petition to the Turkish parliament demanding the genocide's
recognition.
ARMENIAN STUDENTS MARCH IN A TORCH-LIGHT PROCESSION TO GENOCIDE MEMORIAL
YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS: Around 1,000 young members of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation and Nikol Aghbalian Student Union marched om Monday
in a torch-light procession from central Yerevan to the Tsitsernakaberd hill
in the northern part of Yerevan to the Monument of 1915 Armenian genocide
Victims.
Before the procession there was a meeting in which the young men and girls
condemned the government of Turkey for extermination of 1.5 million of
innocent Armenians in the last years of the Ottoman Empire and the efforts
of
the modern Turkish government to deny it.
The youth took with them the national flags of 14 countries that have
officially recognized the Armenian genocide.
TURKISH REPORTER CALLS ON HIS GOVERNMENT TO RECOGNIZE GENOCIDE
YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS: A Turkish reporter from Germany Ali Ertem,
who
has arrived in Yerevan with another four members of Frankfurt-based Union
Against Genocide, told Armenpress that the issue of the Armenian genocide
was
first introduced to the Bundestag by their Union.
Ali Ertem said that the Turkish press reacted angrily to the motion. The
state and private TV channels, the leading newspapers placed it as the
breaking news, while Hurriyet daily described it as "Blackening of Turkey."
Ali Ertem said that several members of the Union (he did not wish to
disclose
their names) have started a campaign of recognizing the Armenian genocide in
Turkey. Ertem said that besides their Union there are also some other
Turkish-German organizations campaigning for recognition of the Genocide.
"When I first came to Armenia I said that it was impossible to cover the sun
with mud and noted that no one in Turkey has the right to deny the Genocide.
Our struggle is for international condemnation of genocide," he said.
The Union has collected an extensive range of documentary materials proving
the occurrence of the Genocide," he said.
The public opinion in Turkey is divided into two today, those who admit that
there was a genocide and those who deny it. Despite the authorities pressure
and intimidation, there is a definite layer in the Turkish society that
accept the historical truth. "We believe that Turkey's recognition of the
Genocide is important in terms of revival of human consciousness and if its
not recognized it would be offensive for us, because we are humans," Ali
Ertem said.
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